Hitch for use with sleds and the like

ABSTRACT

A hitch adapted for connecting sleds and the like to snowmobiles. The hitch includes a universal connection at the snowmobile and a swivel connection at the sled. The connection to the sled is by means of a pair of elongated members clamping a forward portion of the sled therebetween for improved control of the towing action. The hitch includes means for ready removable installation.

United States Patent Johnson et al. 1 Oct. 2, 1973 [54] HITCH FOR USEWITH SLEDS AND THE 2,650,832 9/1953 Hume 280/492 LIKE 3,580,612 5/1971Pearson 280/492 2,153,309 4/l939 Milz.... 280/492 [75] Inventors: RobertD. Johnson, Gurnee; Chester 1 257 454 2 1918 Brady 280/493 Hook,Waukegan, both of ill. 3,552,775 l/l97l Warner. 280/492 67, l 195 R kl'k 80 49 [73] Assignee: Jerry Martin Company, Gurnee, Ill. 2 8 452 l 9 22 [22] Filed: 1971 Primary Examiner-Robert R. Song [21] APPL 177,641Att0rneyAxel A. Hofgren et al.

52] U.S. Cl. 280/24 ABSTRACT [2;] LntidCLiU .buf62gzl5g00 A hitchadapted for connecting Sleds and the like to 1 0 earc f 4 snowmobiles.The hitch includes a universal connec- 28 I494 80/5 R tion at thesnowmobile and a swivel connection at the sled. The connection to thesled is by means of a pair [56] References (med of elongated membersclamping a forward portion of UNITED STATES PATENTS the sledtherebetween for improved control of the tow- 3,560,013 2/1971 Lee280/24 ing action. The hitch includes means for ready remov- 2,580,538l/l952 Gentsch.. 280/492 able installation, 1,229,465 6/1917 Hudson280/492 2,027,499 1/1936 Tully 280/492 9 Claims, 6 Drawing FiguresBACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This inventionrelates to hitches and in particular to hitches for connecting sleds andthe like to pulling means such as snowmobiles.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the use of snowmobiles and the like,the operator may at times tow other devices, such as sleds, behind thesnowmobile. One form of sled conventionally so towed comprises aconventional toboggan.

A conventional means for connecting the toboggan to the snowmobilecomprises ropes and the like. The use of such connecting means hasproven dangerous in that sudden stops or sharp turns of the snowmobileoften causes loss of control of movement of the towed toboggan withresulting crashing of the toboggan not only into elements of theterrain, but often into the rear of the snowmobile.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention comprehends an improvedhitch adapted for use in towing a sled,-such as a toboggan, by asnowmobile, or the like, providing high safety in the towing operationwhile yet comprising an extremely simple and economical structure.

More specifically, the invention comprehends the provision of a hitchfor use with a snowmobile in pulling a sled having a laterally widefront portion, comprising a pair of elongate clamp elements, means forclamping the clamp elements to the wide sled front portion to extendsubstantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the sled,and a connector for connecting the clamp elements to a rear portion ofthe snowmobile with a preselected spacing therebetween, the connectorpermitting limited lateral and vertical displacement of the sled frontportion relative to the snowmobile rear portion.

The means for connecting the hitch to the snowmobile may comprise auniversaljoint. The means for connecting the hitch to the sled maycomprise a pair of elongated members clamped about a wide portion of thesled such as the upturned front end of a toboggan and including movableconnection means.

The interconnecting means comprises a rigid tongue member whichmaintains a desired spacing between the front of the sled and the rearof the snowmobile to prevent crashing of the sled into the rear of thesnowmobile as upon sudden stops. The tongue is readily removablyconnected to the connectors on the snowmobile and sled, herein byremovable pin means, so that the snowmobile and sled may be operatedindividually when desired without fully removing the connecting meanstherefrom, permitting facilitated reconnection of the snowmobile andsled when desired.

The means for clamping onto the sled are adapted for connecting ontoother devices, such as conventional children's sleds, by engagingrelatively wide front portions thereof. The movable connections of thetongue to each of the snowmobile and the sled permit for an adjustmentof the disposition of the sled relative to the snowmobile bothvertically and laterally while yet providing effective control of themovement of the sled relative to the snowmobile.

The hitch of the present invention is light in weight for facilitatedhandling in connection and disconnection thereof relative to thesnowmobile and sled.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING Other features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a snowmobile and tobog- 0 ganinterconnected by a hitch embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary enlarged top plan view thereof with the tonguebeing shown in an alternate an gularly displaced position in dottedlines;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary enlarged side elevation of the means forconnecting the hitch to the snowmobile;

FIG. 4 is a vertical section taken substantially along the line 44 ofFIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged vertical section taken substantially along theline 5-5 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary perspective view of the connection of the hitchto a conventional childs sled.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT In the exemplary embodiment ofthe invention as disclosed in the drawing, a hitch generally designated10 is adapted for use in connecting a sled, such as a toboggan sled, 11to a towing means, such as a snowmobile 12. The hitch includes a rigidelongated tongue member 13 which maintains a desired spacing between therear 14 of the snowmobile and the front 15 of the sled. The tongue isconnected to the snowmobile by a movable connector 16 and to the sled bya movable connector 17 to provide a flexible connection therebetweenpermitting vertical and lateral displacement of the sled relative to therear of the snowmobile in the normal operation of the apparatus. Thehitch 10 provides an improved control in the towing action providing ahigh degree of safety while yet comprising a simple low cost structure.

More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2-4, hitch 10 comprises a tubulartongue formed of a rigid material such as metal, having a front end 18connected to a U- bracket 19 by means of a pin 20 extending through apair of axially aligned openings 21 in the spaced legs 22 of theU-bracket. The bight 23 of the U-bracket is secured to an upturnedportion 24 of an angle bracket 25 by means of a screw 26 extendingthrough the bight 23 and angle bracket portion 24 and retained inassociation therewith by a suitable nut 27. Pin 20 is retained inassociation with tongue end 18 and U-bracket 19 by means of a cotter pin28 extending through a suitable diametric hole 29 in one end of the pinand a turned end 30 at the opposite end of the pin disposed outwardly ofthe lefthand leg 22, as shown in FIG. 4.

The other leg 31 of the angle bracket 25 is pivotally mounted on aconnecting bar 32 extending rearwardly from the snowmobile rear portion14, by means of a pivot screw 33 extending through the bar 32 and legportion 31 and retained in association therewith by a nut 34, as shownin FIG. 3.

Thus, leg 31 of the angle bracket 25 may pivot about a vertical axis ofpivot screw 33 and U-bracket 19 may pivot about a horizontal axis ofpivot screw 26 while tongue end 18 may pivot about a horizontal axis ofpin 20, all as shown in FIG. 3, to provide a universal joint connectionof the tongue end 18 to the snowmobile. The connection to the snowmobileis readily broken by removing cotter pin 28 and withdrawing pin 20,permitting the angle bracket 25 carrying the U-bracket 19 to remain onthe bar 32 so that the snowmobile may be operated independently whendesired. when it is desired to reconnect the hitch to the rear end ofthe snowmobile, the user need merely reinsert the pin through theU-bracket holes 21 and tongue end 18 and replace the cotter pin 28.

The rear end 35 of the tongue may be connected to sled 11 by connector17 which comprises a novel clamp-type connector for ready removableconnection to the front end of the sled. As shown in FIG. 2, theconnector includes a pair of parallel elongated clamp elements 36 and 37which are forcibly urged together by a pair of screws 38 and 39 and locknuts 40 and 41, respectively. The clamp elements 36 and 37 may comprisetubular elements provided at their outer ends with suitable caps 42.Thus, the clamp elements 36 and 37 may be clamped about the upstandingfront portion 15 of the toboggan to provide a firm connection thereof tothe toboggan over a relatively wide area minimizing stress in thetoboggan structure resulting from the substantial pulling forcesgenerated in the towing of the toboggan by the snowmobile. The rear end35 of tongue 13 is connected to the front clamp element 36 by means of aU-bracket 43 having a bight portion 44 secured to the element 36 as bywelding 45. A tubular member 46 is secured to the distal end of thetongue 13 as by welding to extend perpendicular to the longitudinal axisof the tongue and parallel to the axis of the hole 47 in the front end18 of the tongue provided for receiving pin 20. A pin 48 is extendedthrough holes 49 in the legs 50 and 51 of the U-bracket 43 and coaxiallythrough the tubular member 46. One end 52 of the pin 48 is turned andthe opposite end 53 is provided with a cotter pin 54 for retaining thepin 48 in association with the U-bracket 43 and tubular member 46 toconnect the rear end 35 of the tongue 13 to the sled. Thus, pin 48provides for facilitated connection and disconnection of the sledrelative to the tongue 13. Upon disconnection of the pin, the tongueconnector element 46 may be separated from the U-bracket whilepermitting the connecting elements 36 and 37 to remain clamped to thefront end of the sled for facilitated reconnection of the sled whendesired.

Thus, the connection to the sled provides for swinging of the sled abouta horizontal axis at the rear end of the tongue 13 with the sledmaintained substantially in longitudinal alignment with the tongue .13at all times. The horizontal swinging movement of the sled relative tothe snowmobile is effected at the front connector 16 while each of theconnectors 16 and 17 permits pivotal movement about horizontal axes toprovide an improved tracking of the sled behind the snowmobile withmaximum safety at all times.

As shown in FIG. 6, the clamp elements 36 and 37 are further adapted forready connection to the other. types of sleds, such as the conventionalchildrens sled 55, having a relatively wide front end portion 56 towhich the elements 36 and 37 are clamped. As shown in FIG. 6, the nuts57 may comprise wing nuts for facilitated manipulation in effectingconnection and disconnection of the clamping means. As will be obviousto those skilled in the art, nuts 40 may similarly comprise wing nuts asdesired. The use of screws 38 in effecting the clamping action of clampelements 36 and 37 provides for substantial clamping forces to assurepositive connection of the sled through the hitch to the snowrnobileeffectively precluding inadvertent disconnection thereof in the towingoperation thereby providing high safety in the use of the apparatus.

Hitch 10 is formed of relatively lightweight metal members so that theentire hitch structure may have a weight of under approximately 6 lbs.while yet providing high strength and durability for use in towingrelatively heavy loads over rugged terrains. The hitch is readilyconnected and disconnected while yet providing positive association ofthe sled with the snowmobile in the connected arrangement. in theillustrated embodiment, the tongue has a length of approximately 40inches so that the front of the sled is spaced approximately 3% feetfrom the rear of the snowmobile. As will be obvious to those skilled inthe art, any suitable length of the tongue may be utilized.

The foregoing disclosure of specific embodiments is illustrative of thebroad inventive concepts comprehended by the invention.

We claim:

l. A hitch for use with a snowmobile in pulling a sled having alaterally wide front portion, comprising: a pair of elongate clampelements having a length greater than the width of said front portion ofthe sled; means acting between the clamp elements at the opposite endsthereof laterally outwardly of said sled front portion for clamping saidclamp elements to said sled front portion free of strength-reducingdeformation of said sled front portion and to extend substantiallyperpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the sled; and aconnector for connecting said clamp elements to a rear portion of thesnowmobile with a preselected spacing therebetween, said connectorpermitting limited lateral and vertical displacement of said sled frontportion relative to said snowmobile rear portion.

2. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector comprises a rigidelongate member.

3. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a universaljoint at said snowmobile rear portion.

4. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a swivel jointat the mid-portion of said sled front portion pivoting about ahorizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of thesled.

5. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a rigid tongueand a universal joint at one end of said tongue and a swivel joint atthe opposite end of said tongue.

6. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connecting means comprises atongue, a first connector for connecting one end of the tongue removablyto the snowmobile, and a second connector for connecting the oppositeend of the tongue removably to the sled, each of said connectorsincluding a connector pin and being arranged to be disconnected by theremoval of the connector pin.

7. A hitch structure adapted to be connected to a sled, comprising: apair of parallel elongated clamp members; means extending outwardly ofand adjacent the edges of said sled for forcibly urging said clampmembers laterally toward each other to rigidly clamp the clamp membersto the sled without structural weakening of the sled; a tongue member;and means on a 9. The hitch structure of claim 8 wherein said connectingmeans comprises a tubular element secured to one end of the tongue, andpin means movably extended through said tubular element and havingopposite ends connected to said clamp member.

1. A hitch for use with a snowmobile in pulling a sled having a laterally wide front portion, comprising: a pair of elongate clamp elements having a length greater than the width of said front portion of the sled; means acting between the clamp elements at the opposite ends thereof laterally outwardly of said sled front portion for clamping said clamp elements to said sled front portion free of strength-reducing deformation of said sled front portion and to extend substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the sled; and a connector for connecting said clamp elements to a rear portion of the snowmobile with a preselected spacing therebetween, said connector permitting limited lateral and vertical displacement of said sled front portion relative to said snowmobile rear portion.
 2. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector comprises a rigid elongate member.
 3. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a universal joint at said snowmobile rear portion.
 4. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a swivel joint at the mid-portion of said sled front portion pivoting about a horizontal axis perpendicular to the longitudinal centerline of the sled.
 5. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connector includes a rigid tongue and a universal joint at one end of said tongue and a swivel joint at the opposite end of said tongue.
 6. The hitch of claim 1 wherein said connecting means comprises a tongue, a first connector for connecting one end of the tongue removably to the snowmobile, and a second connector for connecting the opposite end of the tongue removably to the sled, each of said connectors including a connector pin and being arranged to be disconnected by the removal of the connector pin.
 7. A hitch structure adapted to be connected to a sled, comprising: a pair of parallel elongated clamp members; means extending outwardly of and adjacent the edges of said sled for forcibly urging said clamp members laterally toward each other to rigidly clamp the clamp members to the sled without structural weakening of the sled; a tongue member; and means on a mid-portion of a clamp member for movably connecting said tongue member thereto.
 8. The hitch structure of claim 7 wherein said connecting means comprises means for pivotally connecting said tongue to said clamp member for pivoting about an axis parallel to said clamp members.
 9. The hitch structure of claim 8 wherein said connecting means comprises a tubular element secured to one end of the tongue, and pin means movably extended through said tubular element and having opposite ends connected to said clamp member. 